Saturday, January 21, 2012

Activity 2.3 BLOG Tell your story


In my day-to-day life I tend to be very observant and rational when deciding what I should and should not believe among things I see and hear or read. I find that the world is full of advertising and opinions that do not always have validity, things is the media are also from a perspective or point of view with someone I might not agree with. Before I jump to a decision I try and think about what the message is they are trying to get across to me and why they are trying to make me believe what they are saying. For instance during the primaries for the presidential candidate everyone is pushing their message as to how they can be a better president than the other, however the other candidates are also providing us with negative facts about their running mates trying to disprove what the other one is saying. I try to keep an open mind up until it’s time for voting and then when it is time to vote I weigh the facts out, at least what I can remember of each. I try to remain open minded and find some validity in how these goals could actually be accomplished so that they are not just bluffing in order to become the president of the United Sates.  I would also have to say I look at the different candidate’s standards and how far they would go to become the president. In the end I will vote for the candidate that I find has good morals, is honest and who will be the best person for the job.

In my life I have many standards I try to abide by. I believe honesty, trust and humility are some of the major ones. The standard that I feel is the most powerful is consideration of others and myself. I believe in life it is important to have goals and to accomplish things without giving up, however if you are not considerate of the ones around you and of yourself than maybe the journey will not be a successful one. I spend a lot of time thinking about how my actions might interfere with another person’s feelings or actions. I usually think about what I want to do then I think about who will be affected if it goes wrong and or right. I weigh everything out so that actions don’t cause negative reactions and if they do that the reaction is a necessary one or will cause the outcome necessary for the change needed. For example when I decided to start graduate school I thought about all the negatives and positives of starting graduate school before I even applied. I had to weigh the positives such as accomplishing a goal I set for myself many years ago and becoming a role model for my children. I want my children to have goals and want them to be successful, so I find myself needing to set the same standards for myself. Some of the negatives will be long nights studying and doing research, which will take time away from my family. I will also have to work harder as I am about to deliver a baby in the middle of one of my classes while learning to become a mom in my soon to follow classes. Although this journey will be an uphill battle the positive outcome of achieving my degree, setting a good example and becoming a successful leader far out weigh the difficulties I will face along the way.

These standards were acquired through living and learning and also my Mom motivating me to push myself and become something I could be proud of. My Mom has always taught me that honesty really will be the best policy. Although that can be taken as a quirky message it holds a lot of truth. If I don’t lie about something even if it’s difficult to be honest I find it’s always an easier recovery then when I have to lie and continue lying, in the end losing what was the truth.
She has also taught me about trust. I have a good relationship with her and I have built trust and continued to remain trustful because she set an example by being trustful. I learned throughout life the hard way of having someone break my trust or the damaging effects of breaking another’s trust. Once the trust is broken relationships can never really be what they were before the trust was broken.  For example I had a best friend growing up and I told her something very personal and one day I found out she had told another person who then told another person revealing my secret and thus humiliating me in front of all of my friends. Although we still remain friends and this incident was many years ago I find myself not fully disclosing anything that could come back to hurt me. The trust is not completely there and I don’t think it ever will be.

My Mom also taught me about being humble and the positives feelings you can feel when you don’t make a big deal about doing something. Sometimes the idea of not sharing your generosity or kind gesture feels better than going on and on about it. For example every December I go with a charity to purchase toys for families who are unable to provide Christmas present to their children. The kids write down a wish list for Santa and then we purchase items off of this list, wrap them and then give them to the Moms and Dads so they can give their children something on Christmas day. The feeling of being a part of these kids Christmas and making them smile even though they have no idea who I am feels better than anything I have experienced.

My main standard of living is consideration and it is something I have acquired not only through my Mom’s teachings, but experience as well. I have witnessed people with a complete lack of consideration and I have seen how hurtful it can be. Throughout my life considering others before myself makes me feel better inside. I have witnessed this standard tends to rub off on others. My friends will always tell me how good I make them feel and how nice it is to have someone like me as their friend. They can always come to me and they know I will always be there for them to help them through a difficult time in their lives. Being considerate is like love, the more I practice it the more it spreads. I have noticed as I get to know people the more considerate they become of my feelings and themselves as well. Over the years I have grown and so have my standards of living. They have made me who I am today and I think these standards are going to be passed down to my children and so on. I know I am on the path of becoming a successful leader and I will continue sharpening these skills as I educate myself.

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